This week's Grapevine brings you information fresh from the paddock on: Cold War Brewing Silly Season Update

Cold War Brewing

As budgets get tighter, a number of interesting development projects are coming to light that appear to be at odds with the financial climate. Formula One is all about finding ­ and maintaining ­ advantages over the opposition. Since the sport began, development of new approaches, and evolving the existing ones, has been the key to winning, and even in the days when drivers could make substantial differences, they needed the hardware to get them the chance win consistently.

However, even in the dark world of research and development, things are not always what they seem, with agendas that must be seen to be believed… if they should be believed at all.

When Renault last withdrew from the sport, they stated there was no reason to return unless they came up with a new approach. Soon afterwards, rumours of an adiabatic engine surfaced ­ Renault were to come back with an engine that needed almost no cooling (so cars using this unit would need very small sidepods, much reducing drag). The rumour only died when the engine format was fixed to ten cylinders, exotic substances were banned, and Renault announced their comeback would be based on a wide V unit. So, why fix the number of cylinders? Answer ­ none of the other manufacturers could do this research whilst maintaining an F1 presence, so the idea of a brilliant V6 air cooled engine appearing on the scene was anathema to them. Toyota's much anticipated entry with a V12 unit was more fuel to the same fire.

In 1997, Jordan "shelved" an idea for heads up displays on the basis of insufficient budget and man-power to do the research. Six months later, and Ferrari were allegedly testing a heads up display in their helmets, reflecting dashboard information. The summer after that, McLaren's Olivier Panis was pictured testing a new device on his helmet. So, where are all these devices now? Well, as Jordan can tell you, they shelved the plan without putting any money into it, because with the drivers' heads being buffeted by the airstream and vibrated on every bump the car rides over, it's impossible to get a decent image that they can focus on; not only that, the weight penalty of any additional device in the helmet over a race distance is just not acceptable. Leaking the idea just gave the bigger teams more distractions to waste their budgets and researchers' time.

Right now, things are tight; however, the games continue. How widely reported was the Ferrari "integrated engine and gearbox"? And how many manufacturers wasted their development efforts trying to "catch up"? Is it any accident that McLaren are finding it awkward getting the most out of their Mercedes unit this year? Is the engine underpowered ­ or was the Woking outfit trying to force the evolution of a new transmission to 'keep up'?

Work on next year's cars has to get going around now; slow cars have to be brought up to speed; everyone is struggling with their budgets. Misleading the opposition into seeing a new barge-board as the source of improved pace is a good way to stopping them looking at the diffuser, or revised suspension layout, so the advantage remains for longer. Selling them on a concept for the new car that is just beyond anyone's capabilities is even better!

Silly Season Update

Now that the circus has returned to Europe, and the on-track action is proving slow, things are starting to warm up in the Silly Season, with rumours of prospective future moves growing daily. As usual, front running teams are seen as the key Silly Season players: until they make their commitment known, and the media believes them, the possibilities open to the remainder of the field are staggering.

Despite Ferrari's verbal commitment to Barrichello, there are widespread rumours that his seat could be up for grabs. The rumour mill has also connected both Sauber's Felipe Massa and Renault's Jenson Button, as their performances exceeded general expectations this year. And as his season progressed, Juan Pablo Montoya was also "lined up" with Ferrari, and the speculation remains that at some point his move is inevitable, though no one believes he will be accepting a role of second fiddle. More low key - though just as likely as the Massa rumour - Ferrari are apparently courting Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, leaning on Kimi Raikkonen's move to McLaren as a reason to leave his Mercedes background. However, Barrichello's last two qualifying performances have done much to slow down these rumours, if not finally quiet them.

Renault has also been featuring plenty in the Silly Season speculation. Their rapid improvement, alongside the confusion over Jenson Button's future, and his commitment to Williams, has proven irresistible. Should the Grove outfit require Button back, then he is obliged to go. Whether he was replacing Montoya or Ralf Schumacher, there is no doubt at all that Flavio Briatore would be very interested in signing the displaced driver. However, the price tag could be considerable, and with test driver Fernando Alonso looking very strong, there is a cheap, high potential alternative available. The middle road has Panis as a potential teammate to Trulli, but when Briatore publicly ruled out Villeneuve as "not value for money," there was a ring of truth that has ­ for now at least ­ killed those rumours. One more name that came out after the Spanish GP was Heinz-Harald Frentzen; obviously pure speculation, but an interesting idea!

It is surprising that McLaren are not a big target for rumours this year ­ presumably as a result of their decline in fortune. That said, with Kimi Raikkonen regularly showing an edge over David Coulthard, there are already rumours that his services will no longer be required next year. Who might be driving in his stead is not mentioned.

Likewise, there is more than a hint of expectation that there will be changes at BAR. With David Richards at the helm, Jacques Villeneuve's position has stopped being a formality. Indeed, until the team is capable of scoring points regularly, Richards is finding it difficult spending so much on retaining his services… which gives Villeneuve something like the remainder of the European season to demonstrate the difference he makes is worth it.

Jordan are pleased with Giancarlo Fisichella's progress ­ he has lived up to expectations nicely. However, Takuma Sato's frequent trips into the kitty litter have set the gossips talking. The debate now is, can Eddie Jordan risk Sato taking a season and a half calming down, as he did when introducing Ralf Schumacher to the sport, or will the need for results put the Japanese driver into a testing role for a season (or be dropped altogether, should Honda drop out of the picture).

On the Arrows front, few expect Tom Walkinshaw to pay for Frentzen to continue driving next year; this season has effectively seen Jordan continue to pay the price for dropping him last year. Negotiations for next season have not been considered yet, but the bottom line will be simple: every penny for Frentzen's salary would be from the team's development budget. And, of course, he has no scruples when it comes to changing the driver line-up, even as a new season begins!

There is one team that has impressed this year, but seemed too new to feature in the Silly Season rumours. However, Toyota have not remained out of the loop for long, and there is now speculation that Bruno Junqueira is being lined up for a couple of tests at the tail end of the season. Although considered a "Williams" man, Junqueira is well thought of at Toyota, after a solid rookie CART season at Ganassi Racing. He's quick, gaining experience all the time, and young. Potentially, just what the doctor ordered, if Williams and Chip Ganassi can be persuaded to part with him.